On Sunday 27th September at 7:43pm I climbed Swain’s Lane for the 125th time to finish an almost 22 hour effort to climb the equivalent height of Everest on a small, but steep hill in North London. Hatched as part of a wider plan to raise money for the charity Move (you can donate here), the idea was born while cycling endless laps of Swain’s during lockdown and trying to come up with a challenge that would be truly challenging. I wanted to try to do something I wasn’t sure I could finish and this was the task I chose.

Move is a charity that supports mostly young people with cancer by helping them to get active during and after their treatment, based on the premise that exercise and an active lifestyle aid recovery. Most cyclists can attest to the benefit exercise brings to their own lives and see how important it is for everyone whether they are well or not. I think that the work Move is doing is fantastic and that the more people who are convinced of the amazing benefits exercise can have the better off everyone will be.

My preparation for this challenge was very simple – many, many laps of Swain’s Lane! I had hoped to lose a bit of weight to make life easier for myself but that proved too hard for my almond croissant loving self and I actually ended up marginally heavier by the time the day came around. I had my bike serviced two weeks out and the clever mechanics at Look Mum No Hands suggested a 34T rear cassette which made all the difference on the day as it reduced the pressure on my knees on the steep bit and allowed me to slow right down towards the end of the day. Anyone who popped by to support on Sunday afternoon was probably struggling to go at my slow pace as no one else had a lovely large cassette like mine! LMNH have since donated the cost of my service to the charity so not only were they instrumental in my success but they did so for free!

I planned to start cycling at 10pm on Saturday night as I had guessed I’d be cycling for 20-22 hours and didn’t want to be cycling through a second period of darkness in a fatigued state. I got up at a leisurely time on Saturday and picked up some extra food for the ride, did some last minute tinkering on my bike then got back into bed at midday for a four hour doze. I don’t know how much I actually slept but I wanted to rest as much as possible. At 8:30pm my Simple Works colleague, Jonny collected all of my supplies with his car and drove it to an apartment I had booked beside the Lane while my boyfriend, Ian and I cycled over via Swain’s Lane – one rep of the hill for luck! After a quick toilet stop we set up the car at the top of Swain’s Lane and started to gear up. We would all do the first few laps together before Jonny went to the apartment to get the first shift of sleep. Ian would stay by the car and hand out food and drinks while my dad cycled with me. Eamon Conneely had decided the night before that he would come and cycle as much as he could, having originally only been planning to come on Sunday for a few laps. I think he was worried I would be abducted in the middle of the night! Luckily for me he was over in London for work and just so happens to be an incredibly strong cyclist.

We got through the first 42 laps, 100km and almost 3000m of climbing with little dramas and in just over 6 hours. I felt really strong and the quiet, but very well lit, roads were a pleasure to ride in the dead of night. I had given Ian a very specific list of food and drink that I wanted every 30 minutes which was a mixture of Outdoor Provisions bars, peanut butter sandwiches, fruit and plain or electrolyte-mixed water. While he handed me things right on schedule I started to feel sick a few hours in. I had overestimated how much I could eat and was also possibly pushing too hard to start with. By the time Jonny arrived to base camp with freshly made porridge I was sick of eating and feeling quite nauseous. I ate half of the porridge knowing the goodness it contained and got back on the bike after downing a cup of coffee. Ian went to take his sleep shift while dad tried to get some rest in the car. I didn’t want any food or drink handed to me for a little while. Jonny and I cycled 20 laps during which I had to take many nature breaks. The coffee! A diuretic! I lambasted myself for not planning in more time for toilet stops but didn’t lose too much time as we were still cycling nice and quick.

By the time Gail’s bakery opened at the bottom of the hill at 7:30am my friend Gaia had joined and my nausea was easing. We stopped for a look in the bakery window and Jonny bought me two cinnamon rolls, one of which I demolished there and then. Back on the bikes and on we pushed, lap after lap, my mood improving after the cinnamon roll but still not feeling 100%. Emily arrived as Gaia left and we had a few quiet laps together. There was still very little traffic on the road at 9am so it was low energy to keep moving and we kept covering ground. As the day crept on, more and more of my friends started to appear and at some points we had a bit of a peloton going; albeit the slowest peloton that ever existed! Paul, Juliet, Colin, Jess, Paola, Amy and Stuart all showed up and did their fair share of laps. A very interesting mix of people I know from school, socialising, travelling and cycling; all riding laps of Swain’s Lane together. 

With one lap to go before the lunch stop and the two-thirds point I looked down to see my Wahoo had turned off. Shit. I was very close to the car so I stopped and plugged the computer in. It turned on but my activity had been ended and it was ready to start a new ride. OK. Deep breaths. No problem. I tried to start the computer again but the battery was too low so I decided to turn it off and take lunch a lap early. I walked to the public toilet and did a full outfit change which felt amazing after spending 15 hours in one set of kit. Yardsale (the best pizza makers ever) had very kindly donated pizzas for our lunch so after a big slice and some ginger beer I tried my bike computer again. Miraculously, this time it started to reboot and after a minute or two my ride appeared on the screen – still in progress – win! So all the computer had missed was the 200m between turning off and getting to the car as well as the 15 minutes of standing around time. No time to worry about it now anyway. I had new friends for the afternoon shift as Annabel, Helen, Dominika, Drew, Stuart, Mike and Tom all joined for numerous laps. Incredibly, I never completed a lap on my own and am very grateful for that fact! Paola had the bright idea during the week to make a large sign explaining what we were up to which we had erected beside the car and as members of the public read it and figured out which cyclist was Sinéad, I began to receive support from complete strangers! Side note: the graphic, which I’m obsessed with now, was designed by the amazing Martha Smith and was inspired by a nude photoshoot that Victoria Pendleton did in 2012. I’m getting some caps and bags made up with the design so let me know if you want some merch!

With about 10 laps to go I had somewhat of an epiphany. I turned to dad and said “What the fuck are we doing? This is total fucking madness!” He laughed and just clapped me on the shoulder. I’d clearly started to go a bit funny, although some might argue this was the only moment of clarity I experienced throughout the entire thing. So, 10 laps to go. We ticked them off slowly, one by one, always just focussing on finishing the lap we were in. One by one my support dwindled until it was just dad, Jonny, Drew and I with Ian handing out supplies. No more food, please. You have to drink something! – was generally the way my interactions were going every time I passed the car. With three laps to go Ian jumped on his bike and we ended as we had started; all together and in the dark. Two laps to go and Joe, a very old friend from school, appears out of the dark with fresh pizzas. One lap to go and all I need to do now is not crash my bike. Last lap. I make a burst for it on the steep bit and manage to finish somewhat strongly although I think my loyal team purposefully stayed back to enhance this image! 125 laps! Done!

I get off my bike and grab one of the pizzas Joe has very kindly and generously provided. It’s not sliced so I fold it in half and start eating from where I have crumpled onto the pavement. We have a fair bit of sorting to do as my stuff is all over the place and we need to get home which is 7km away. I suggest that cycling home might actually be easier than organising a taxi but that idea is shot down immediately and Joe, the hero of the evening, scarpers off to borrow a work van to bring us home. I inhaled the pizza in about four minutes and started trying to help tidy stuff away although I may have been more a hindrance than a help as I just sort of just shuffled around and got in the way. We got all our stuff in the van, were driven home and got our stuff into our flat. Again I think I was very annoying in trying to help Ian move the stuff from the pavement into our building as I kept bumping into him and could sense him holding in the urge to shout at me. Finally, I made it to my couch and started to read through the messages I had received throughout the day. When I turned my camera on to send a selfie to my mum I realised I was still wearing my cycling helmet. I definitely needed to go to bed but was struggling to drag myself out of my kit and into the shower. Come on Sinéad, you can do this. I managed to shower but I’m pretty sure I didn’t actually wash, I just stood there and let some of the grime wash away. Into bed and I was out like a light at 9:30pm. 

I woke up at 9:30am and wiggled my toes. Still there. Sat up in bed; core still works. I managed to stand up which was vaguely shocking and as I took a few ginger steps I was pleasantly surprised to find that I was absolutely fine. Weird. How could I be fine? Almost 22 hours of cycling and no trauma? Normally the morning after an Ironman I can barely make it to the bathroom but this experiment in endurance cycling proves what I’ve spent the last few years coming around to; that long distance cycling is far better for you than long distance running. And to be fair, by the end of the day I was going so incredibly slowly that my body was probably already starting to recover from the night shift when I was pushing harder. Whatever the reason, it has sowed a seed. As dark as some of the moments were on the Lane, I absolutely loved cycling for such a long time. When I was back in Ireland in August my dad handed me a book which he said he hadn’t wanted to give me originally in case it inspired me to do something stupid. But he gave me “Around the world in 80 days” by Mark Beaumont because he figured I may as well be prepared for when I inevitably decide to go and do something stupid. I am also reading Emily Chapell’s book “Where there’s a will” which is about her completing the Transcontinental Race across Europe. I’ve never shown much of a natural talent for any of the sports I train at but I am quite good at not stopping so I’ve decided to focus my efforts there. Watch this space! 

The moral of this very long winded story? Cycle more! Move more! As I write this I have almost hit my fundraising target of £7,000 for Move and their brilliant initiative 5k your way which encourages and helps people living with and beyond cancer to get running. It’s a really great charity and I’m excited to have been able to contribute to their cause. Thank you to everyone who has donated, messaged and supported throughout this journey. It’s been very fun and very rewarding!

PS My dad, pictured below, low key cycled 79 laps which is almost two-thirds of the entire challenge. Someone pointed out that I didn’t lick it off a stone in relation to own ability to keep my legs moving so I’m grateful to this guy for his genes and his attitude!